Pleasureofpressure

The recent form tells an interesting story. Looking at the last six outings — finishing fourth, fourth, third, second, fourth, fifth — there is a horse that keeps appearing in the mix without quite delivering. That second-place finish stands out as the closest it has come, a moment where everything nearly clicked. The frustrating truth is that a horse finishing second is beaten by the narrowest of margins, yet earns nothing in the win column. Pleasureofpressure has spent a lot of time in that uncomfortable territory: good enough to be there, not quite good enough to win.

Trained by P J Rothwell out of Tinahely in County Wicklow, the horse is at least in capable hands. Rothwell's yard has sent out 35 winners already this season, which is a genuinely productive operation — that kind of output means the team know how to get a horse race-ready and find the right opportunities. The fact that Pleasureofpressure raced just one day ago tells you this is an active, fit horse being kept busy. Whether a first win is coming is the open question, but at six years old and with a trainer in good form, the door hasn't closed yet.